Katie's Girl: Jethro's Daughter
by gufis253
Summary: Three years after Kate's daughter, Kaye, comes to live with Gibbs, the two are just beginning to navigate what it means to really be father and daughter. Begins in season 6 and will feature all main characters and storylines, with extra team dynamics. Watch as Kaye goes through her preteen years with the team. SEQUEL TO KATIE'S GIRL.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here we go. The second part of Kaye's story. If you're new, you really need to go back and check out my other fic, Katie's Girl. This is the sequel. But here's the general idea. Kate was a single mother who had a daughter who was just turning eight years old when she died at the end of season 2. Through a series of events, Gibbs takes custody of little Kaye, and they become closer, eventually becoming (adoptive) father and daughter. The previous fic is their first 3 or so years together (seasons 3-5). This picks up in the winter of season 6, with flashbacks to cover bits of the months in between. Thanks for stopping by!

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Mid December 2008**_

"Mornin'."

"Morning."

"Bag ready?"

"Yes."

"Homework?"

"Done."

"Good. Cereal?"

"Toast."

Eyebrow.

"Toast, please."

"Better. Lunch?"

"Cafeteria?"

"Grab some change from the jar."

Kaye sighed softly to herself before reaching for the big mason jar that resided on the kitchen counter. She half-listened as her dad dug bread from the bag and dropped it into the toaster, pushing the button down as he read his morning paper. She dug out the usual five dollars for her school lunch and once again autopiloted to the cupboard beside the fridge. She didn't need to search. Left hand deposits the change into her pocket. Right hand opens the cupboard and reaches for the peanut butter, always in exactly the same space. Left hand swats absentmindedly at the door to shut it as she sets the plastic jar to the counter. It was always the same. It had been the same for months.

"Routine." Gibbs defended.

"Rut." Abby always accused.

The summer and fall months had done a number on the Gibbs household. As if losing Jenny so suddenly hadn't been difficult enough. Then Vance had split up the team. Despite the traumatizing news, Kaye had remained all too calm. She had shed a few tears as they saw Tony off. She'd even gotten angry about Vance's decision and stated her opinion of him rather loudly in the bullpen a few weeks after the funeral, causing an in-depth _conversation_ between she and her dad. Kaye had thrown herself into writing to Tony for the first month of his absence, but as school had begun, her interest in all else had faded away. Even after Gibbs managed to get the team back, Kaye had remained generally stoic.

And then things became a routine. Days passed by ever similar, and the Gibbs home became nearly as quiet as the years between Kelly and Kaye.

Kaye waited for the toast to pop up, spread some peanut butter over each piece, squished them into a sandwich, and took a big bite. She looked at the time, thankful that she had wasted a little extra upstairs. It meant they could leave right away and skip the small talk at the breakfast table.

"Ready to go?" Kaye asked her dad as he read the latest headlines.

"Yeah. Got your bag?"

"Mmhmm."

"Let's roll."

As Kaye headed out the door across the snow, Gibbs locked the door behind him, sighing. Another day.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Late September 2008**_

"What are you working on?" Abby asked as she leaned over Kaye's shoulder in the lab.

"Math."

Abby glanced over Kaye's work, ever impressed at her flawless calculations. At eleven, Kaye was already in the seventh grade at Brockton Academy, doing the work that students in at least ninth grade were probably doing in the public schools.

Sighing at the younger girl's monosyllabic answer, Abby turned and looked at the mop heads. She missed her team. Sure. Tim was just downstairs. Logically she knew that he wasn't far away. They actually had had dinner the night before. But it wasn't the same. He wasn't upstairs. Ziva wasn't upstairs. _Tony_ wasn't upstairs. Looking over her shoulder at the little brunette form hunched over homework, Abby frowned. They could really use a little Tony in their lives. Kaye hadn't been herself since Vance had split the team up, and as each day passed, she worried more for the girl. She was beginning to see some of her own past reflected in Kaye, and she didn't like it one bit.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Mid November 2008**_

Tony peeked around the corner and caught sight of Kaye in Abby's living room before turning back to the Goth.

"I don't know, Abby. Maybe she just doesn't want to do the movie nights anymore. Maybe they remind her of Jen. So much of our tradition with movie nights stems from that summer." He whispered through the phone.

"They started _way_ before that. What makes you think she doesn't want to be there?"

"I mean, maybe it's just that puberty stage. She doesn't seem to care what movie we watch; doesn't care what food we eat. It's just 'whatever' this and 'whatever' that. But the worst part is that she isn't even angry when she's doing it. She just really doesn't care."

Abby watched her own movements in the mirror as she pulled the elastics from her pigtails. She had been studying Kaye's behavior closely from the moment of the famous outburst in the bullpen. And as the months dragged on, her fears about the girl seemed to be justified. She was beginning to see far too much of her young self in Kaye.

"Have you tried suggesting something other than movie night? If she really didn't want to see you, I think she'd let it be known."

Tony scraped his hand through his hair in frustration. "I have tried. Bowling. Going out for dinner. Going out to a new movie. Going out anywhere to do anything. She always says no. I just don't know what to do anymore, and I'm starting to think it's not just happening with me."

Abby stood from her seat at her vanity, twirling a stray lock of black hair around her finger repeatedly. "It's not just you, Tony. That much I do know. I think everyone's at a loss. She's not our Kaye right now. Even Emily is picking up on it! Fornell asked if Kaye was alright the last time he dropped her off because she and Emily didn't seem to really be having any fun."

"So, what do we do about it?"

"There's not much we can do right now. Gibbs needs to see it. He needs to wrap his head around the fact that his little girl isn't okay. Until he accepts it, we need to watch her like hawks, Tony. We have to do it for her."

Tony huffed into the phone as he looked over at Kaye, slouching on his sofa. "Yeah, Abbs. I will."

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Early August 2008**_

Kaye stared at each word she had carefully written out on the postcard. An upbeat greeting. A question. A joke. A two-sentence story about her day. An "I love and miss you", and a signature.

It was the formula she had been following on each postcard sent to her Tony out at sea.

A pathetic excuse for communication, but it was the only option.

Kaye jumped as a voice rang out behind her. "You still trying for every day?"

Looking up, she forced a half-smile at her dad from her place behind his desk. "Not anymore. One a day is a little much. Three a week, however…"

Gibbs chuckled dryly. "'M sure he appreciates them, no matter how frequent."

"When is he coming back, Daddy? When can you get them all back? We haven't really even _heard_ from Ziva. And Tim's going to get even _more_ pale hiding out in that basement with his computers all day."

Gibbs huffed as he poked her gently in the sides, eliciting a quick squeal as she vacated his chair. Plopping down, he pulled her to him. "You know the answer to that."

"You have no answer."

"Nothin' I can do about it right now."

Kaye felt a flash of anger run through her. "That's what you've been saying this whole time! I'm tired of hearing that there's nothing to be done! There's always something to be done! You're Leroy Jethro Gibbs! You get things done."

Gibbs sighed and motioned for her to lower her volume. While she obeyed, it only fanned the flames of frustration within.

"None of this would have happened if she was still alive."

Gibbs sucked in a sharp breath. Now she was on to talking about Jen? That was new. Since the day of the funeral, when the team had been split up, Jenny had been a nearly taboo topic between them. Kaye never seemed to want to talk about the woman that she had considered her mother, and he hadn't minded the silence on the subject.

He wasn't exactly good at the feelings thing, especially the _talking about the feelings_ part.

"It's all _Toothpick's_ fault."

Gibbs fought a smirk. _That_ she had picked up from DiNozzo. She and the new Director hadn't had many run-ins, yet, and he was hoping to keep it that way until he could figure this whole situation out.

It wasn't his lucky day.

"Agent Gibbs. I didn't know it was bring your daughter to work day. Hello Kaye."

Gibbs stood from his chair, hoping to run interference. "Just here for a half an hour or so while I finish up some paperwork."

He glanced toward his daughter, giving her a sideways warning look.

A look which she promptly ignored. She was angry. She was angry that her mom had died. She was angry that someone could so easily take her place. She was angry that her family had been ripped apart on the day of Jenny's funeral. She was angry at Leon Vance.

"What's that you're writing?" Vance asked, glancing toward the postcard.

Gibbs went to speak, but Kaye beat him to the punch.

"A postcard. To Tony. You know, because it's the only way I'm allowed to communicate with my family, now."

Gibbs licked his lips and placed a heavy hand on Kaye's shoulder. But as the fire burned within her, Kaye wondered if she was channeling just a bit of her mother, Kate. She'd been told stories of Kate's righteously angry outbursts on more than one occasion.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to receive it."

Vance moved to turn away, and Gibbs felt a momentary rush of relief. A bit of pre-pubescent attitude was easy enough to write off. Hell, this new Director had kids of his own. Surely he wouldn't let such a small comment bug him.

And then she was gone. Out of his grip, out of his reach, strolling toward the Director of NCIS with a stride he could only describe as _Kate_. It all happened in a flash. Kaye came up behind Vance, and poked him hard in the back, causing the taller man to turn around and face her, looking down to meet her piercing blue eyes.

"May I help you?"

"Can you _help_ me? Yeah. You can _help_ me. How about you walk straight up to that fancy office of yours and start to really _think_ about your little idea about splitting up the best damn team in your agency!"

Vance's eyebrows shot up as his eyes darted between the little eleven-year-old brunette and her father, who was quickly rushing over to them.

"Kaye. That's enough. Back to my desk. Now." Gibbs said, a quiet threat.

Whipping around, blue eyes met blue eyes. "That's _not_ enough!"

Kaye turned back and took an angry step toward the Director of NCIS.

"I don't know who you think you are, splitting up families. That's really what you want to be known for? Remembered for? Messing with the dynamics of the one team that actually gets anything done around here?! Man, Jenny always said she would do her best to assure that you'd never get your hands on the agency. Now. I. Know. Why. Just you wait. You'll get yours, _Toothpick._ Everyone's going to see through your little _charade_ soon enough. Tony will be back where he belongs, and so will Tim and Ziva. And you won't be able to do anything about it. That's how it works around here."

Gibbs gripped Kaye by the shoulder as she took yet another rushed step forward, taking no small amount of joy in the fact that the looming Director took a small step backwards in response.

Ripping her shoulder out of his grip, she glared at Vance, and said in the lowest, most threatening, Gibbs-like voice that she could, "This isn't over, _Leon._ Not even close."

Gibbs grabbed Kaye with both hands and gently shoved her over to the bullpen, whispering a warning of the punishment to come before turning back to the still-stunned Vance.

"I – "But he realized he had no words. He wasn't planning on apologizing. Hell, he agreed with every word she'd said, and was silently pleased _someone_ had said what he couldn't. Surprisingly, Vance just squinted.

"It's fine, Gibbs. Take her home. I don't think she needs to be around here anymore."

And that was it. The man turned and left.

But it was not a conversation to be soon forgotten.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Early December 2008**_

"Nothing."

Abby stared first at Kaye, and then exchanged thoroughly confused glances with the rest of the team.

"Nothing?"

"I don't need anything." Kaye said, turning back to her homework.

"You don't want anything for Christmas?" Gibbs asked, surprised at his daughter. She was often referred to as their mini-Abby at Christmas time; their little elf. She was always excited about going and getting a tree, decorating, shopping for presents and wrapping them. Kaye would be the first one to pull out his old Christmas tapes and play them…in November. He usually had to beg her to keep her Christmas spirit to herself until _after_ they finished doing the dishes on Thanksgiving Day. But not that year. It was the end of the first week of December, and there was no Christmas tree in his living room, no candy canes stashed in his cupboards, no flyers with wished-for items circled conveniently left in the bathroom, no Christmas music playing, and not one box full of treasured decorations piled in a corner.

"I'm fine."

The team had gathered in Gibbs' living room to plan their Christmas celebrations, which usually began with Kaye's ideas, but she wasn't giving them anything.

"Well, um…did you want to do some Christmas baking with me?" Tony asked her. He had inherited all of his mother's recipes, and like the good Italian he was, could cook or bake almost anything with ease.

"That's okay."

Another hit. Kaye loved baking. Cookies, butter tarts, fudge…if it was sweet, she was all in.

"Have you begun to write your list of gifts to shop for?" Ziva asked hesitantly. She and Kaye had never been particularly close, but it seemed that while the girl had missed her in her absence, they had, if at all possible, grown even further apart.

Kaye was growing tired of their line of questions. She knew that they were attempting to get her into the spirit of things, but she just wasn't feeling it.

"Not really." She paused, knowing that some version of the truth would be the only way to get them off her back.

"I was actually thinking things over," she said as she put her homework to the side. "Christmas is fun and all, but if we all care about each other so much, and we already give each other little things throughout the year, do we really need to do Christmas, too? It just…seems like a bit of a waste. We overspend and try to make this one day perfect, and as close as it sometimes comes, it never quite lives up to what we want. Dad didn't do a big Christmas thing for years, and he was fine, right Dad?"

Gibbs was unsure of how to respond. He wasn't going to discuss the reasons that he'd ignored the idea of celebrating any major holidays for years after Kelly had died in front of the team. Luckily, Abby was there to save him as always.

"Kaye, honey, I don't really think it's the same thing. Your dad had…reasons. You always love Christmas. What's going on this year?" But of course, Abby knew.

And so did Kaye, not that she was going to admit it. And honestly, she was getting a little annoyed that they wanted so much information out of her. Wasn't _not into it_ enough? Did Abby really have to push? Was it really so important to her to get the answer that they all knew already?

"Look. I know what you guys are thinking. And yeah. Maybe Jenny factors into it. It's just not _Christmas_ without her. But it doesn't matter. I don't really care this year. If you want to get me presents, go ahead. If you want me to go shopping and wrap presents, well, that might not happen. If you want me to be the crazy happy excited girl that I have been before, well, too bad. That job can go back to Abby this year. You guys decide what to do for Christmas. I'm going upstairs so I can _actually_ get some homework done."

A solid five minutes passed in stunned silence after Kaye half-stormed out of the room before anyone spoke.

"What was that?" Tim asked.

Abby shook her head. As the team dispersed for the evening, she stayed behind and looked Gibbs in the eye.

"I don't know who that was, but that is not Kaye. Something's really wrong, Gibbs. I know it, and I think even you know it. You've _got_ to do something."

Gibbs just puffed out an annoyed breath. "Leave it, Abbs," he warned. "Plan Christmas how you want it and leave it."

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Mid December 2008**_

The truth was, he did see it. He'd seen it for awhile. Sometime after _The Outburst_ , the generally positive, exceedingly resilient little girl that he adored had…dulled. She'd become despondent, disengaged. DiNozzo had been right the few times he'd mentioned his concerns. Kaye just _didn't care_.

He knew the signs. He'd seen them in himself so many times.

But she was _too young_. You shouldn't be depressed when you're eleven years old.

And she was still functioning. Her grades were as good as ever, possibly better. She was constantly focused on her schoolwork, and nothing else.

Just her homework.

Not her family.

Not Emily.

Not even Claire and Ryan.

And she hadn't cried about Jen since the funeral.

Gibbs peeked through the crack in her open bedroom door and watched her sleep, her thin frame buried beneath the yellow blankets that had been on her bed at Jen's place.

He would keep an eye on things, but he wouldn't push. He didn't like being pushed, either.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Mid December 2008**_

Abby bounded down the stairs to the basement with determination. She was angry. She had to remember that. Swinging around the corner of the stairs, she hopped down the last few, and lost in her thoughts, ran straight into Gibbs' chest.

"Oof! Uh, hi Abbs." He said as his arms came around her automatically. "You okay?"

Abby shook her head quickly and looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, thank-wait!" she paused. "I'm supposed to be mad."

Gibbs held back a smirk and stepped away from her. "Oh?"

"Well, maybe not mad, exactly. Frustrated? Maybe mad."

Gibbs turned around and moved back to his tool bench, searching for a particular one. "Why're you supposed to be mad?"

Abby followed him to the bench and shoved a few tools down toward him, hopping up and sitting on the edge. Her feet swung back and forth. "Kaye."

Gibbs head swung up and he moved to sit on the sawhorse across from Abby. "You're mad at _Kaye?_ What'd she do? You should go talk to _her_ about it."

Abby sighed heavily. "I'm not mad _at_ Kaye, Gibbs. I'm mad – frustrated – I don't know… _about_ Kaye."

Gibbs huffed and scratched his head. He loved Abby like a daughter, but sometimes she _really_ tried his patience. "Out with it."

"It's been _months_ , Gibbs. And I _know_ that this was a big deal. It was bad enough for the rest of us; I can't imagine how hard it's been on you and Kaye. Now I know it's like pulling teeth to get _you_ to talk about _anything_ , but I've always been able to get Kaye to talk to me about stuff. But not this time."

Gibbs dipped his head and stared at the floor. "She needs time." He whispered.

Dropping off of the bench, Abby moved and crouched in front of him, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Gibbs, she's had time. It's less than a week until Christmas. I know how Kaye thought of Jenny. I know that this was as bad, _maybe worse_ than losing Kate for her. But she's not talking. She's not opening up. And we're losing her. Don't you see it?"

Gibbs coughed and rubbed a hand over his face, his other one coming to rest on Abby's shoulder. "I see it."

"She's shut down. And it's not just about Christmas. She's not letting anything affect her, good _or_ bad. I – I think she's depressed, Gibbs. She needs to _see_ someone about it. Even _Claire_ has come to me, worried that Kaye's not Kaye anymore. And I know how you feel about shrinks, and I'm not asking you to go to one, but please –"

Gibbs cut her off mid sentence. He hated the idea, all of it. He hated that Kaye was _wrong_. He hated that he'd held a part in it all. He hated that he hadn't dealt with it sooner. And now they'd be putting her through even more. "Find her one. A good one. One for kids in these situations."

Abby nodded and stood slowly, coming close and hugging Gibbs to her chest, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head. He held her tightly, taking strength from her. "I don't know if I-"

"It's okay, Gibbs. I've got this."

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Monday, December 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 2008**_

Kaye looked up as they took a wrong turn.

"Where are we going?" She asked her dad as he drove in silence.

He was hoping to get her to the shrink's office _before_ he had to have this conversation.

"You've got a meeting."

"Huh?"

Gibbs huffed and braced himself for the backlash.

"Abby set it up." Maybe he could soften the blow with Abby's good intentions.

"With who? What's going on?"

"Her name's Amanda. She's a, uh…."

Kaye tried to put the pieces together. The team _had_ been leaving her alone more in the last week or two. But Abby had been around constantly, always probing, always watching. And she'd asked about Jenny again not too long ago.

It hit her. "You're making me see a shrink?!"

Panic rose in her chest. This was _not_ happening. She did not need a shrink. She had a family. If she needed to talk, she could talk to them. She was NOT going to blab about her life to some nosy stranger. Besides! She was absolutely fine!

"Look, we're just going to try it for a bit. You haven't been yourself."

"So what, I'm supposed to be all perky all the time? Fine! I can be perky. I can like Christmas. I am just FINE, Dad. I don't need a shrink."

Gibbs huffed as he pulled into the small parking lot in front of the blue building. "You'll go in. You'll talk. You'll prove that you don't need one, and we'll be done with it."

But something deep within both father and daughter knew otherwise.

NCISNCISNCIS

The room was warm, and the chair she sat in was almost _too_ comfortable. Photos of impressive outdoor scenery hung from the pale blue walls, and stuffed animals, toys and art supplies filled a white Ikea shelf to one side of the room. There was a desk off in the corner of the room, and three overstuffed chairs and a sofa filled the remainder of the space. Kaye set her hot chocolate down on the coffee table and tucked legs beneath her.

Seventeen minutes down, forty-three to go, and she still hadn't said a word.

"Your Dad and Abby tell me that you aren't as excited for Christmas as you usually are."

Kaye's eyes drifted over _Amanda_ yet again. Part of her wanted to talk, sure. She was normally a really talkative kid who loved to meet new people. But not anymore.

Amanda, for her part, was trying. She seemed kind. Maybe in her early thirties, so she didn't seem as intimidating as Kaye had thought her shrink would be. In another situation, she figured she probably would have really liked the blonde woman. Amanda seemed very _casual_ , in her jeans and purple sweater. Her blonde hair was in a slightly messy, curly ponytail, and black-framed glasses perched on her nose, revealing bright honey-brown eyes.

Christmas.

If she was going to talk, maybe Christmas wasn't the worst subject to talk about.

"It's not like I hate it. I just don't really care this year."

Amanda smiled gently and nodded. Kaye liked that she wasn't taking notes. In all the movies, psychologists sat there, analyzing every word you said with a notebook in hand. Amanda had instead asked if she could record their session, and Kaye had agreed.

"Is there anything in particular that you care _less_ about, or would really rather not participate in?"

Kaye scrunched up her nose. Nobody had asked _that_. She needed to think.

Whether the team did Christmas or not didn't seem to matter. Thinking over every aspect of the day, she felt just the slightest twinge of anxiety when one thought came across her mind.

"After dinner, we all sit around the living room talking and stuff. I usually play with some of my new presents and Abby puts on all of Dad's old Christmas records."

"You don't want to do that part this year?"

"I think I'll just go up to my room after dinner."

Kaye watched Amanda and could see the thoughts whirring in her head. Something had meant something, and Kaye wanted to know what.

"What did you used to like about that part of the night?" Amanda asked, shifting in her chair, a small smile gracing her pink lips.

"Well, I guess, like…last year. Sometimes by then Tim and Jimmy leave, which kind of sucks, but they have family to be with. Abby usually sits by Tony or Dad or just wanders around doing stuff. She kind of runs Christmas for us. Dad wasn't big into it, but she always got him to do something. If Ziva sticks around, she's _always_ by Tony. I think they sometimes have something going on between them but just try to hide it because Dad would get mad." For just a moment, Kaye felt almost like herself. She was babbling like she used to, like Abby always did. "He has this whole thing where he has rules and rule twelve is never date a co-worker. But I know even he ignores it sometimes. He let Abby and Tim date before, and Abby and Tony once kind of dated? I don't really think it was dating. And then he and Jenny were together last Christmas…"

Amanda tilted her head as Kaye trailed off.

So that's what she was trying to get Kaye to figure out.

It had to do with Jenny. All of it. First the tears and the sadness, and then the not caring and the not really wanting Christmas.

Her mind flashed back to the year before.

 _The team basked in the warmth of the fire and the dim glow of the Christmas lights as they all groaned contentedly about how much they had eaten. Jenny, Ducky, Abby, and Tony had created a delicious smorgasbord of a turkey dinner; everyone had eaten their fill, and there was still enough left for lunches for the next week._

 _Jenny and Kaye were alone in the kitchen, putting the extra food into the fridge._

" _Did you have enough to eat, sweetheart?" Jenny asked as she scooped mashed potatoes into a Tupperware container._

" _Oh, yeah. I'm so full. I can't believe we still haven't even eaten dessert yet. I think we're all going to die."_

 _Jenny chuckled at her little girl as she handed Kaye another dish to put in the dishwasher. "I'm glad you liked it. So, has this Christmas been everything you wanted?"_

 _Kaye turned and glanced at the living room, taking in the sight of her whole family there. "It's the best one I've ever had. Everything is so perfect. The presents, the tree, the fire, everyone being here, the food. It's all I've wanted. Having you here…" Kaye trailed off._

 _Jenny dipped her head as she blushed. "It's probably been my best one yet, too."_

 _Kaye sighed dramatically. She was so tired of hiding what she knew._

" _Something wrong?" Jenny asked quietly, so that the rest of the group wouldn't hear._

 _Kaye tilted her head as she looked at Jenny. There was no easy response to that question. The only thing that she could find wrong was that they didn't know that she knew. So instead of blurting things out, she slowly walked over to Jenny and fingered the locket that hung from her neck._

" _Daddy has good taste, doesn't he?" She whispered._

 _Again, rosy color appeared on Jenny's face. "Yes, he does."_

 _As Kaye opened the locket and ran her index finger over the photos, Jenny suddenly realized that they had been hiding everything for no reason._

" _Sweetheart?" She whispered, her fingers coming under Kaye's chin to guide her eyes to her own. "Is there something you want to tell or ask me?"_

 _Kaye bit her lip, something Jenny had noticed her do before when she was nervous._

" _Honey, do you…do you know?"_

 _Kaye looked fearful for a moment, before a spark lit deep in her eyes as she nodded. Jenny's eyes filled with tears, as she pulled Kaye in closely for a tight hug._

 _Gibbs had been watching the whole scene from his place on the couch, and stood suddenly, striding over to his two girls quickly. He shot Jenny a quizzical look, to which she responded with a simple nod. That was all the communication they needed. Gibbs rolled his eyes dramatically, before leaning down to pick Kaye up. She hugged him tightly. "I promise not to tell anyone, Daddy."_

 _Gibbs laughed quietly in her ear. "Shoulda known I couldn't keep it from you. Didja already tell Abby?"_

 _Kaye turned beet red. "Well, it's not like it was confirmed or anything…"_

 _Gibbs just pulled her in for another hug, reaching out to Jenny with one hand to squeeze hers. "Swear her to secrecy. Got it?"_

 _Kaye grinned and nodded, before hopping down. As she watched her dad sneak q quick kiss from Jenny's lips while the rest of the team was distracted, Kaye kept her squeals of delight to herself._

Kaye felt her chest tighten in a way it hadn't really in months. A quiet gasp of air was all it took to quash the emotion rising within her. Unbeknownst to the eleven-year-old, Amanda took note of the sharp change in the girl's actions as she watched her shut down after finally opening up.

"I just don't want to do it this year."

The remaining forty-two minutes were fairly quiet.

NCISNCISNCIS

Kaye sat in the corner of the sofa under the window, her legs curled beneath her. She stared intently up at the Christmas Tree that Abby and Tony had brought over. The whole Christmas thing had fallen on their shoulders this year.

She wondered if she should be angry. She didn't really want Christmas, after all, and nobody had listened to her. There was still a big day planned with gifts and stockings and food.

Maybe she was supposed to be sad, heartbroken, even. Jenny, her _mom_ , was gone. There would be no special gift under the tree that came from some inside joke they had shared, no jokes about Paris or other parts of Europe in the winter to make her dad blush uncomfortably. No uninhibited shrieks of laughter would come from the redhead. There'd be no whipped, creamy garlic mashed potatoes this year, either.

Maybe she was supposed to be happy. She did still have her family that loved her, a house to live in, and food to eat. There may have been a lot of heartbreak along the way, but she was still there, and it was still Christmas.

But as her eyes bounced from blue light to pink, yellow light to red and green, as she examined each shiny, treasured ornament that had been collected by the team since she'd become part of the family, she felt…

 _Nothing._

No anger rushed through her veins. She didn't shed a tear, and she most definitely didn't smile.

And as her eyes moved to the gifts, to the stockings hung from the fireplace, to the snow outside, Kaye finally realized what Abby had been talking about. She finally began to understand why her team was so worried about her. She finally started to grasp why she was being sent to talk to Amanda.

Kaye knew something was wrong with her.

And for the first time in a long time, tears came.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Christmas Day 2008**_

Gibbs slipped away from the room full of people, earning a concerned glance only from Abby as he headed upstairs. Kaye had disappeared after dinner and hadn't been seen since. He'd been thankful she'd participated at all.

As always, despite how she may have been feeling inside, Kaye had showed gratitude with each gift she had received, even hugging each team member at least once. She'd managed to paste a mostly-false smile on her face as each of her family had opened the gifts she had reluctantly picked out with the help of Abby and Tony in the days leading up for Christmas. She'd even nominally joined in on the dinner conversation.

But as soon as dinner was over, and the team headed for the living room, Kaye had headed upstairs.

Her door was open, a good sign, and he found his daughter reading on her bed. A quick glance around the room reminded him of the harsh changes they'd undergone in the last six months. Her yellow bedding, which had once resided in her room at Jen's place, clashed with the purple and blue daisies on her walls. Childhood toys such as Barbies were gathering dust in the corner of her room, while school books littered the remaining surfaces. Even her beloved art supplies and typewriter sat untouched on a shelf. It was finally becoming so very obvious to him what Abby had been seeing for months. His little girl was going through something terrible, and she didn't even understand it enough to communicate it. Abby had seen it, but he'd been blind, hoping for the best, hoping that it would all pass.

It wasn't passing. The Kaye that he saw before him was not the girl he'd grown to know, and while he still loved her dearly no matter what she was like, he finally understood that something was wrong, and it needed to change. She needed _help_ to change. Maybe they both did.

Moving across the room, he lowered himself, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. Kaye turned her book over on her bed and sat up, crossing her legs in front of her.

"You've been gone awhile."

Kaye sighed. "I was done with people."

Well _that_ certainly wasn't the extroverted little girl he knew.

"Did you like your gifts?"

Kaye nodded. "They were nice."

Gibbs huffed, internally trying to convince himself not to do what he was about to. But he knew what this was about. And while Jen had been nearly a banned topic between them since the funeral, he realized that maybe ignoring the elephant in the room was what had lead to what Amanda had informed him was most likely childhood depression.

So he bit back his discomfort and lifted the small, wrapped box, handing it to his daughter.

"What's this?"

"Another gift."

Kaye's eyebrows lowered in concentration. "From you?"

Gibbs coughed. "Uh, no. It's from…it's from Jen."

Kaye dropped the box to her lap as if it had burned her. "How?"

Gibbs reached over and lifted the little box, handing it back to her. "Found it in the safe deposit box. Guess she figured she might not make it to Christmas, or at least wouldn't be well enough to deal with things. There was just a note. Said, 'For Kaye, Christmas 2008'."

Kaye swallowed hard, examining the item before accepting what was before her. Slowly and carefully, she removed the shiny gold paper to reveal a soft white box. Lifting the lid, she sucked in a breath.

In it lay a locket. A very familiar locket. "I thought she was buried with this."

Gibbs looked over, brushing his finger over the metal. "She was."

As he turned it over, though, understanding overcame him. "It's not quite the same. The jewel is wrong, and there's no engraving. And it's a little smaller, too."

She must've bought it after she'd received her Christmas gift from him last year. She wanted Kaye to have a matching one.

Gently, Kaye removed the necklace from the box, her fingers running over the thin chain, finally coming to rest on the locket, itself. She unlatched it and looked inside.

She had expected a photo of Jenny, and maybe one of herself. But what she saw was different. On one side, a photo of the three of them, Jenny, her dad, and herself. On the other, just a photo of Kaye and Gibbs.

"There's a note inside." Gibbs said, lifting the piece of folded paper from the box. He handed it to Kaye, who read it aloud.

"I'll always be in your heart, sweetheart, but you still have your Dad. You'll always be his little girl. I love you. Merry Christmas. -Jenny."

Gibbs understood what Jenny was trying to do. For so long, Kaye had clung to the idea of a mother. She'd grown up with Kate being her entire world. And then she'd come to live with him after Kate's death. And while he had instantly loved her, they didn't quite click as father and daughter immediately. It was only after he'd returned from Mexico, after Kaye had already bonded deeply with Jen that she'd begun to call him Dad.

And now she'd lost all hope of having a mother. She'd had Kate. She'd had Jen. He didn't exactly have a great track record with relationships, not that Kaye would have approved of some new stepmother, anyways. The only women left in her life were Ziva, who she still barely knew, and Abby, very much _not_ a mother.

It was the two of them, again. Alone in the world, even when surrounded by people they loved.

Kaye looked up at her dad and blue eyes met blue eyes that seemed so similar, despite not being related at all. She still had her dad.

Without speaking, father and daughter shared a singular thought.

 _Hopefully that'll be enough_.

NCISNCISNCIS

A/N: I am so excited to finally be getting into this sequel. There's a lot to be explored, and I can't wait! I won't reveal too much about what I hope for this chunk of the story, but I'm hoping that it will focus more on who Kaye is becoming as she grows up, as well as her navigating what it really means to finally, once and for all, have Gibbs as her only real parent. Our Kaye isn't so little anymore, and will be facing some big ups and downs as she discovers truths about who she is, her place in their little family beyond that of a little child, and secrets that have been hidden from her. Thank you for sticking around and reading. Here's to another hundred chapters! (Maybe…..)

Oh, and Merry Christmas 2017 to all of you!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just a heads up, for a few chapters, we'll do a bit of jumping around in the timeline of canon events to make up for skipping ahead half of season six. Thanks for reading!

 ** _Saturday, July 26th, 2008_**

Ziva woke to darkness, momentary comfort quashed as the reality of the day ahead hit her. Her eyes blearily focused on her glowing alarm clock. 3:05 in the morning. She didn't need to be up until after six, but she knew there would be no falling back to sleep. Slowly, she sat up, blinking, taking in what little she could see of the room bathed only in the soft luminescence of the streetlights beyond her curtains. It had been nearly three years since she had first moved into this apartment. At the time, she hadn't owned much of anything of consequence. She'd brought her clothing, limited though it was, her weapons, and a few photos. Jenny had taken pity on her and had taken her out on a lengthy day of shopping for household items such as dishes and a sofa. It was why her home seemed coordinated and not as sparse as one would expect. Jenny had always been good with style, whether in clothing, hair, or anything else. Jenny had helped her make a home.

And now her friend was gone. Emotion welled up in her as it had begun to so often in the past three years. She had come to NCIS as a well-trained killing machine. Tony's affectionate "assassin" nickname had been rooted in truth. Ziva would have been top of her class in hiding true feelings, crushing them deep down inside in the name of cool composure. But the team had broken something in her perfected compartmentalization techniques. Being part of a _family_ , however messed up, had changed her, some would say for the better. She had learned to cry with her team. She had learned to control her anger with her team. She had learned to open herself, if only a little, because of the people that she cared for.

She had learned to allow herself to love and _be_ loved.

Ziva felt a stab of hurt slice through her chest. It was all over, now. Her place at NCIS, her team, her _family_. Gone, one simple order, and she would be back to Israel. Back to Mossad.

Back to her father.

An involuntary shudder shook through her. She had left that life behind and was doing _well_.

She stood and felt the slight chill in the room. It was the summer, so she'd had her air conditioner running, and for the first time she noticed its hum. She walked over to the armchair in the corner of her bedroom and pulled her housecoat from it, shrugging it on and tying it carefully at the waist. Looking back at the bed, her sheets a mess, a mark of a restless sleep, she sighed.

In just a few hours, she would be seeing her partner, arguably her best friend off at the airport, her flight just two hours after his. She hated to think of the fact that she would never return to this place, her safe haven, and that she may never return to her people either. NCIS wasn't exactly a safe job, as was evidenced by the last few weeks. But Mossad made NCIS seem like a nursery school. Every day was life or death, and at one time, she had been thrilled to live that way.

Ziva lowered herself back to her bed, the mattress dipping softly below her, and she looked behind her. She wasn't sure this was a situation she could just shove into one of her boxes in her mind.

"Your thoughts are awfully loud."

Her heart broke again at the voice.

This would not be easily forgotten.

A hand reached out and grasped her gently by the elbow, pulling her down. Ziva was not typically a vulnerable person, but in that moment, she felt open to the world. As her head came to rest on the pillow, her dark eyes, ever full of fire, met his blue-green.

They'd crossed the line they had drawn in the sand so long ago. Just in time to be ripped apart. _Because_ they were being ripped apart.

She tucked her head in close to his neck, his chin resting on her curls, her nostrils filling with the comforting scent that was her partner, her dearest friend, her only confidante, _the man she loved_. Tony.

"Cut it out."

"How is it that of all people, Tony DiNozzo is the calm one?"

Tony stroked his hand down her back. The truth was, he was destroyed inside. For so long, they had been doing this dance. Flirt with each other, flirt with someone else. Heated stares and glares shot across a dark bullpen. Walking around with a big ball of heavy emotion, trying desperately to hide it not only from each other, but from Gibbs and his damn rules.

"I'm just cool, baby." He said, hoping that he didn't sound as pathetic as he felt.

Her hand rested on his chest and she sighed.

"What else can I do?" He said lowly, his voice cracking at the end.

She lifted her head, their noses nearly touching, and she felt her eyes begin to water. It had taken them so long, and for nothing.

"This may be the last time I…" But he cut her off with a hard kiss.

"Gibbs will fix it. We just have to give him some time."

"What if he can not? What if there isn't time? What if it's too late?"

Tony sucked in a sharp breath, knowing instantly what she spoke of. Mossad was no walk in the park, and neither was her father, from what little he knew of the man. Despite being one of the few people on earth who knew Ziva well at all, Tony found she still held more mystery than he could ever solve in a lifetime.

And now they had but a few hours.

"He'll get you back. We'll both be back in no time," he choked out, not even believing himself.

Ziva pressed her forehead against his.

"Tony, I-"

"No. We're not doing this now. This isn't it, Zi. You're coming back."

The sob that she had been pushing down finally escaped with a gasp.

"But I do, too."

NCISNCISNCIS

 ** _Wednesday, January 14th, 2009_**

Heavy snowflakes hit the warm window, melting slowly as they rolled down the glass. It had been chilly out, and a snowstorm was brewing, but nothing she said stopped her dad from bringing her to her session with Amanda.

"How has the new routine been working out? I know it's only been one weekend, but how are you finding it?"

Kaye glared out the window. The _last_ thing she wanted to talk about was her new _routine_. Thanks to a lovely little suggestion by her therapist, Kaye had been forced out of her home.

Okay, so maybe she was being a bit dramatic.

"It was bad. And then it was okay. And then it was only kind of bad. And then it was kind of good."

"So you went to Tony's on Friday? And to church with Abby on Sunday?"

Kaye nodded, but did not divulge more details. Amanda decided to move on.

 ** _Friday, January 9th, 2009_**

The air was freezing and her angry huffs blew steam that almost seemed to dance away from her face. Snow was falling heavily and she threw her best glare at it. She used to love snow. Many memories flashed through her head of previous winters, times spent walking or playing in the frozen crystals. But those memories seemed dim, tainted, almost.

Now she was just mad, and the snow wasn't helping matters.

She'd just been informed that thanks to her therapist's advice, she'd be trying out "routine".

What the hell was wrong with the routine they had? Breakfast. In near silence. School. Study hard. Get good grades. Daycare, where she usually did homework or read a book. Home. Dinner. In near silence. More homework. A quick goodnight kiss and off to bed.

Sounded pretty routine to her.

 _"She wants you to start doing things you used to like."_

 _"I always liked being at home doing homework just fine."_

 _Gibbs did his best to be understanding, despite the attitude dripping from his daughter's words._

 _"We're going back to what we know. You. At DiNozzo's. Friday nights. Abby on Sunday for church. And I know you've been avoiding Claire and Ryan at daycare. Talked to Leslie. She's going to start picking you up whenever she picks them up early, so you can spend more time with them."_

 _Kaye growled and rolled her eyes, refusing to accept her new reality._

 _Gibbs sat down beside her at the kitchen table, running a hand down her back, glad that she didn't pull away even in her frustration. "I know you can't see it. Hell, I can't even see it. But this is supposed to help. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to try just about anything to see you smilin' again."_

 _Her shoulders shrugged forward in defeat, but she leaned into his side. "I'm still not going to like it."_

Kaye had started to accept the idea. Until it came time to actually get ready. She had her stuff packed in a bag by the front door. The logical side of her brain, the one she relied on to make life simpler, orderly, the part of her that made sense of her insane life, told her she'd done this countless times, and they'd all been good. Going to Tony's certainly wasn't a new experience. But the other side of her, the gloomy, angry side of her that seemed to rule these days told a different story. She was terrified. She didn't want to leave home. She didn't want to stay at Tony's. She didn't want to talk to anyone or watch any movies. She just wanted to go up to her room, work on some extra credit projects, and go to bed in _her_ bed.

And besides that.

Things with Tony were weird. Very weird. Weirder than Tony-secretly-dating-Jeanne-undercover-and-lying-about-it weird.

They'd interacted some since he'd returned from his Agent Afloat assignment. He'd come over for dinner more than a few times, obviously wanting to make up for the lost attention from Gibbs in his time away. And despite her outburst at Vance, she'd been allowed back in the building, although on a much more restricted basis. She'd spent a few hours on a few Saturdays in the bullpen or in the lab, where she saw Tony and spoke with him occasionally.

And of course, there had been Christmas.

But there was something wrong between them, and there was no way that he could possibly know what it was.

The problem wasn't even between them, really.

It had to do with his choice in women.

His choice in _one specific_ woman.

A woman that she'd recently discovered a nasty secret about.

It wasn't even like the two of them were together, but Kaye could see the looks shot between them. There was something there, something _more_ , something that hadn't been there before Jenny had died. And she was pretty sure she knew what it was.

 _Something_ had happened. All of that flirtation. That odd little non-relationship during the summer that she'd lived with Jenny. It had lead to something and that something was big.

Kaye wasn't stupid. She was eleven, and definitely not stupid.

Tony and Ziva had crossed a line. And she didn't like it one bit.

NCISNCISNCIS

"I don't know about this, Boss."

"You heard the shrink. Says she needs routine. Only time we seemed to make a normal routine last was Friday nights with you, Sunday mornings with Abbs. So that's what we're doin'."

Tony sat back down in his chair in defeat, brushing his fingers through his hair with a huff. Normal. Right. _Nothing_ had been normal in months. Not Gibbs, not Kaye, not….

He looked across at the currently empty desk. She had disappeared with that damn cell phone again. Normal.

"She hasn't stayed the night at my place since…"

"Y'think I don't know that, DiNozzo?"

"I just don't think she's going to like the idea. She hasn't even stayed with Abby. Only time she's been away from home is at Claire's when we were in Stillwater, and that was a battle. She hasn't _wanted_ to be anywhere but with you."

"That's what the shrink is worried about. Kaye used to be begging me every day to go see one of you. Now she doesn't. _Amanda_ says change in behavior is one of the signs of this depression thing she'd dealin' with. So. We _help_ her remember what she's really like. Fridays with _you_ , Saturday night Abby comes over, Sundays she goes to church. _And_ Leslie's gonna start pickin' her up from daycare again. Get her to spend time with her friends."

Tony saw the logic in it, he really did. And he desperately wanted to help his little Bella.

But he was afraid.

He hadn't exactly been himself since he'd gotten off the boat. He'd tried. Joking around with Ziva had been easy, at first. And he did feel like the old Tony DiNozzo a fair amount of the time. But after everything that had been going on with Ziva, Kaye being…withdrawn, Abby all weepy with her abandonment issues, and the lingering heavy guilt he still held over Jenny's death, he was afraid that he couldn't be the Tony that Kaye needed. He was afraid to make things worse. And Kaye had seemed purposefully distant of late, like he'd done something wrong and she wasn't willing to tell him. He'd wracked his brain a thousand times and had yet to come up with anything specific. He'd begun to wonder if it was just part of this depression thing she had going on.

"You'll be fine, Tony."

He looked up and met his boss's eyes, seeing only true encouragement in them.

Apparently, Kaye would be staying the night.

NCISNCISNCIS

Kaye hated clichés, but the silence in the car really _did_ seem deafening. She hadn't exactly been thrilled with her dad's little plan for the night, and she had no problem making it known, even if it wasn't Tony's fault.

Left. Red light. Red light. Right. Red light. Red light. Red light.

Did they have to hit every _single_ red light in the city?

"So, were you thinking Chinese or Pizza for dinner? We could, uh, do something else if you wanted, too."

Kaye just stared out the passenger window and shrugged. She didn't care.

"Right, then."

Soon they pulled up to his building and he clicked the button for the underground parking, guiding the vehicle to his assigned parking space. Kaye unbuckled her seatbelt and whipped open the door as soon as the car came to a stop, slamming the door behind her. Tony sighed heavily and lightly banged his forehead on the steering wheel before turning the key and removing it from the ignition.

Kaye – 1, DiNozzo – 0

Twenty minutes later, he found himself wishing for the quiet, sullen eleven-year-old he'd had in the car with him. The silent treatment beat whatever the hell _this_ was.

"Abby, I swear, pick up." Tony whispered harshly as he held his cell to his ear. He'd already tried Gibbs twice, but he guessed the man had left his own phone on silent somewhere in his evening of freedom.

"Tony? What's up?"

"Abby! I need your help."

"Oh, no. Gibbs warned me about this. You have Kaye for the night. _You_ have to do it. Without me."

"She's crying, Abby. She was almost screaming at me that she had to go home a minute ago. I don't know what to do! She's never been like this!"

Abby stood from her place cocooned in pillows and blankets on her sofa. Considering Kaye's complete lack of caring about _anything_ of late, a screaming fit was certainly out of the ordinary.

"Put her on the phone."

"What, she'll actually _listen_ to you? I didn't think she liked _any_ of us all that much right now."

"Tony, I'm the only one that never left, other than Gibbs. And, well, Palmer. And Ducky. And it's not your fault or anything. That was all Vance's doing. We're not exactly as chummy as we were, but she hasn't completely closed me out. Just let me try."

"Fine. Whatever will work."

Tony moved into the living room, finding Kaye hugging herself tightly, still crying and gasping.

"Uh, Abby's on the phone for you."

Kaye whipped around, revealing tears streaking down her cheeks. She reached out and snatched the phone from his grip. He only heard one side of the conversation, doing his best to catch anything.

"I wanna go home. No! I just want to go _home_! I don't want to anymore. It's not the same! I just… Yeah. I just want my blanket! Okay?! I want to go home!"

She threw the phone down on the sofa, still open, and Tony picked it up as he watched Kaye storm off into the bathroom and slam the door.

"Abby?"

"Hey Tony. Okay. I know what it is. It's her blanket."

Tony shook his head as he stared at the ceiling in frustration. "What. Blanket."

Abby sighed through the phone. "It's this silly little throw blanket. It's fluffy and a dark turquoise color. She can't sleep without it."

Tony gripped the phone tighter, dropping his chin to his chest. Clearly, he was missing something. "I know about Bertha. And I know that sometimes there's the bear that Kate got her. And she's continued to replace those turquoise Keds of hers through the years. And Jenny's green sweater that she wears all the time. When the hell did there start being a blanket?!"

Abby got into her car and started the engine. "It wasn't a thing until recently. It was just this silly blanket that she got for Christmas last year. I guess Jenny got it for their Gilmore Girls and Bones nights. Kaye was always bringing her big comforter down from her bed, so Jenny got her her own blanket. After Jenny died, and the house…well, it became as important as Bertha. And she left it at home."

"I can't get a hold of Gibbs."

"It's okay. I'll go pick it up. There's no way you can go get it. She'll never get back in your car once she's home. And Gibbs can't bring it over because then she'll run down to him and won't go back up to your apartment and Gibbs will be pissed. I told her I'll bring it over. Just give her some time to calm down. And look in her bag. I told Gibbs to slip some of her Bones DVDs in there. I know you have a thing about David Boreanaz, but she needs something familiar and she is _not_ ready to watch Gilmore Girls, yet."

"Abbs, is there more to this than the blanket? Is she…mad at me for something? Is it because…is it because of Jenny?"

Abby sighed heavily into the phone. "She's been near impossible to crack, lately, Tony. It could be a million things. It could be nothing. Just…be yourself. Be the Tony that she used to cling to, and things will start to work themselves out. That's why we're doing all of this. To get our girl back."

Tony thanked his favorite Goth and did as she asked. As soon as the menu music began playing, he heard the bathroom door creak open.

"Bones?" Kaye asked quietly.

Tony placed the remote on the table and flopped down into the corner of the couch, patting the space beside him. Kaye folded her arms, but moved to join him.

Her eyes were still red from crying, but her breathing was back to normal. Tony turned to her and really looked her over.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, forcing himself not to just reach out to her like he would've in the past.

"For what?" She mumbled, still staring at the screen.

And then he felt it tumble out. Somehow, Kaye had always been able to read him in ways that even Ziva couldn't. They had always had a special bond, one born from a shared love and admiration for her mother. But that bond had been damaged, nearly broken. All because of guilt.

"That I didn't keep her safe."

Kaye felt her chest tighten at his words, and for the first time in awhile, she felt real pain. And with it came real anger. She might be a little peeved with this whole Ziva thing, that stupid bit of information that she now knew coupled with what she assumed had happened between the two of them, but of all things…

Her hand made contact with the back of his head.

" _Seriously?!_ " He nearly shrieked as he rubbed the back of his skull in disbelief.

"It's what Dad would do if he heard you talking like that."

"I can't believe you just Gibbs-slapped me!"

Kaye huffed and turned her body toward him, crossing her legs between them. "I'm not _mad_ at you, Tony, she sighed, struggling to find the words. "I just don't want to sleep here."

"You haven't exactly wanted to see me since I came back."

Kaye's eyes drifted to her hands settled in her lap. It wasn't his fault. None of it was. Not Jenny. Not Ziva. She huffed quietly. "Haven't wanted to see anyone. Haven't even really wanted to see Dad, but I live with him, so…"

Tony tentatively reached out and held her two hands in his one. "Doesn't change the fact. I wasn't there. I'm sorry, Bella."

Kaye bit her lip and lifted herself up on her knees, shifting around and planting herself in his lap. She didn't quite hug him, but she tucked her head beneath his chin and sniffled. It took Tony a half-second to compute what was going on, but his arms came around and held her tightly.

"It's not on you. She…she made the choice. You know her. _Knew_ her. A little too much like Daddy. She wouldn't have let you stop her."

Tony dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "I've missed you, Bella."

Kaye looked up at him. "Missed you, too."

Tony had had enough dramatics for the night. "So, still hate being here?"

Kaye stood up and grabbed the remote, plopping down beside him. "I still wish I was at home, yeah. But I hate you less."

"That's nice to – wait. You hated me _at all_?"

Kaye felt herself crack a small smile and selected an episode. Tony found himself smirk as he felt her shoulders shake in a short, quiet laugh. It was faint, but it was great to hear nonetheless.

Twenty minutes or so later, the deadbolt turned and Abby appeared.

"The savior is here with blanket in hand!"

Kaye shot across the room, leaving Tony to pause the show, as she grabbed the blanket from Abby and wrapped herself in it.

"Uh, where's my thank you?" Abby asked, hand on her hip, though her smirk betrayed her.

"Thank you." Kaye whispered from her little blanket pod. "Can you stay for awhile?"

Abby and Tony exchanged glances and Abby knew she was wanted. "It goes against your Dad's rules for the night, but I guess a little rule breakage isn't so bad. Two episodes and I go home, okay?"

Kaye nodded, but gripped her hand and dragged her to the couch, easily nestling between Tony and Abby.

"Just like old times." Kaye whispered as she clicked Play.

But as the adults in the room exchanged glances over her head, they knew it was anything but. Sure, it was Tony, Abby, and Kaye, sitting on Tony's sofa on a Friday night, the glow of the tv screen illuminating their faces.

But things had changed so much since that first Friday night sleepover during the snowstorm back in 2005. Everything had become so complicated. Jenny's death, Kaye's anxiety and depression, Director Vance, Jeanne Benoit, Ziva, cloak and dagger missions, Agent Afloat assignments, Mossad, Fornell, Franks, cover-ups…

Nothing was easy and simple, not anymore.

But watching Seely Booth comfort Temperance Brennan on a Friday night was a step in a good direction.

NCISNCISNCIS

 ** _Wednesday, January 14th, 2009_**

Amanda watched her young client and decided to switch topics.

"Tell me a little about your family, Kaye. I have some of the more vague information, but I'd like to hear about everything from your point of view."

Kaye turned, her long, light brown hair swishing around her shoulders. Tucking a stray strand behind her left ear, Kaye looked up at Amanda. At least she wasn't asking about her _feelings_ again, though she knew that somehow this would tie into it all. That was how psychologists worked.

"Where do you want me to start?"

Amanda smiled softly from her seat across from the eleven-year-old. She had worked with young clients with childhood depression before, and she'd worked with many kids whose family members worked in either the military or government agencies like NCIS. But never had she worked with a child with as unique a situation as Kaye's.

"Anywhere you'd like. Maybe your mom? Or your dad?"

Kaye sighed, but straightened and thought about the question. In their first session, Kaye had barely spoken for most of the hour, and they hadn't been able to schedule another until after the Christmas break was over. So there they were, three sessions in, still working on the basics.

"My mom's name was Kate. Kate Todd. She, uh, worked with the Secret Service and then with NCIS for a year and a half. She was in college when she had me, and I guess my biological father was never interested in being in our lives, so I don't even know who he is. It doesn't really matter though, I guess."

Amanda nodded. "What was your mom like? Were you two close?"

Kaye felt a small smile stretch across her lips. "Yeah, we were. I mean, except for Roxy, mom's friend from college who was kind of like an aunt to me, she was all I had. She worked really hard to give me a good life. Sometimes it meant she was working, like, all the time. But when she came home every minute was spent with me. When I was really little, she pretty much never even went on dates because she didn't want to waste any of our time together. She only just kind of started dating more after she was at NCIS. But even still, I never met any guys. My mom was protective like that. She was fun and protective. And she had a big heart."

"It must have been incredibly hard to lose her. How old were you again?"

Kaye stared down at her hands. "I was about to turn eight. It sucked, yeah. I still remember Roxy showing up at my classroom door. Her eyes were all red and her face was all blotchy. She didn't even have to tell me. I knew. I think I always knew."

"Always knew what, Kaye?"

"I guess I always knew my mom would die. And not in the, like, normal way. I think I knew she would die doing her job, even when I was five or six. Maybe that's why it didn't seem as hard as…" Kaye trailed off, her throat constricting at the thought of Jenny.

Amanda watched the girl carefully, but decided not to push. She knew from her file what Kaye was referring to.

"Then I went to my dad. I didn't call him that at first, Dad. He was Gibbs for a while. I kind of wanted to start calling him Dad when he got hurt."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Amanda thought back quickly. She hadn't heard of Agent Gibbs getting injured at any point. "What happened with that?"

"Um, he was doing an op with the team. I guess it was a big deal. He came home and tucked me in, and then left me with Jimmy for the night while he went off to do the mission overnight with the rest of the team. But something went really wrong, and he got blown up."

Amanda's eyes widened slightly. "How did he survive?"

"I guess he knew that it was going to happen with enough time to hide behind something? Well, anyway, he got really badly hurt and was in the hospital in a coma. That's when the team found out that he'd been in another coma way back when he was in the Marines. That's when they found out everything about his past. Well, the important stuff. He got amnesia."

"Wow. That must've been a lot for you to take in. You were eight at the time?"

"Yeah. Just about to turn nine. It was within a couple weeks of the anniversary of Mom dying. A whole bunch of stuff happened, and the team didn't want to tell me until they had a better handle on the situation. Jenny was making most of the decisions, I think, which was probably good. That's when the team found out about Shannon and Kelly."

"Who were Shannon and Kelly?"

Kaye thought over everything she knew, and realized just how much she'd been talking. Sighing, her brief confidence receded. It was always easy to go on and on about her family.

"Shannon was Dad's first wife, and Kelly was their daughter."

"I wasn't aware that you had an older sister."

Amanda knew instantly she'd been mistaken in some way. Kaye's eyes darted back down to her hands, and an odd look rested on the girl's features. Kaye had gone quiet, and she needed to probe just a bit to get her going again. They were doing so well this time.

"Did you ever meet her?"

Kaye puffed out a breath. "No. Um, Shannon and Kelly were killed in a car accident in 1991, long before I was even born. I guess Shannon witnessed a crime, and being the amazing person she was, planned to testify. It, um…I guess it got her killed. Kelly was in the car at the time. Dad got married three more times, but none of them stuck."

"Wow. That's a lot that he's had to go through."

A small smile tugged at Kaye's lips as she thought of her Dad. "Maybe that's why we were meant to be family."

Amanda shifted in her seat slightly, glancing down at her notes. "So how did that whole story end with your Dad getting hurt?"

"Um, things didn't really get better for awhile. Dad got amnesia, and he forgot about a lot of stuff. He was pretty much back to the time when Shannon and Kelly died. He didn't remember even joining NCIS. He didn't remember Ducky, or Jenny, or the team. He didn't remember me."

Amanda waited for her client to continue.

"He actually started to remember a little bit, but…he took off. Ran away. Went to Mexico to go live with his old boss, Mike."

Her dark eyebrows knitting together, Amanda tilted her head, concerned for eight-year-old Kaye.

"I lived with Jenny for awhile. That's when we got close," Kaye began, not even realizing she was finally speaking about her second mother. Amanda perked up, glad to finally be getting _somewhere_ on the issue. "She was in charge of me pretty much. I lived with her for four months. I had my own room at her house, and we did so much together. She sent me to camp for part of the summer, and that's where I met Claire and Ryan for the first time. And when we got back, she talked to their mom, Leslie, so that we could hang out all the time. I actually loved living with Jenny, even though it sucked that Dad forgot about me and took off."

"That must have been a very difficult time for all of you."

"Yeah. I mean, eventually Dad came back, and I pulled this big stunt that I got grounded majorly for. I snuck out in the back seat of Jenny's car so I could go see him when he was in town. The team hadn't told me but I found out. I wanted him to remember, so I snuck to his house, and then…well, I guess I was in the basement and he saw me, and I called him Dad and it took him a few seconds, but he started to remember. He moved back right away and I moved back in with him. I really missed him. It took awhile, and a big fight or two, but then we got really close."

Amanda smiled at the warmth in the girl's words. She clearly loved her father. "It sounds like you have a good relationship with your dad."

Kaye stared off toward the window again. "I think we do, yeah."

Now that was an odd statement. From what Amanda had read and heard about Kaye and her family, the girl and her adoptive father seemed incredibly close.

"You _think_ you have a good relationship?"

Kaye felt herself tense at the question, but somehow, despite what she wanted, she felt words leave her mouth. "I love my dad. And I know he loves me. But sometimes it's hard. With Jenny, everything was easy. She loved to talk. She was so good at talking. But Dad…he's quiet. He thinks a lot. He wasn't like that as much when they were together, you know? Mom was good at talking to him, getting him to talk more, too. Everything was perfect."

"And now? Has something changed?"

Kaye huffed to herself. She was so sure she wasn't going to spill her guts to this _shrink_ , and definitely not in their second session ever, but somehow Amanda, without even trying, was getting her to open up.

"Now we don't talk about anything. Before he and Mom were back together, we still talked a lot, about everything. We talked more than he talks with anyone else. But ever since…I don't really know. It just feels like we forgot how. I stay in my room. He stays in the basement. I know he still cares, and I still care. But it's like we don't know how to show it anymore. We don't know how to talk."

Amanda watched the girl in front of her closely. Different emotions flashed over Kaye's features, her eyes seeming to brighten and darken repeatedly. Glancing at the clock, she knew that she had another half hour or so with her newest client, and decided to finally give a bit of a push.

"Have you been able to talk about Jenny's death with him?"

Blue eyes darted toward her, and Amanda knew she'd sparked the thought that she'd intended. Kaye's look said it all before the girl had a chance to say a word.

"We don't talk about it at all."

"Why do you think that is?"

Kaye felt a rush of hurt, pity, and fear run through her. "Because he misses her as much as I do."

"I can imagine he does. Have you considered talking about that with him?"

Her shoulders tensed and she stared out the window. "Can we…can we maybe talk about something else?"

Amanda watched Kaye's features closely, and decided it was time to back off a little and redirect. There was no use in pushing too far too soon. "Of course. You were telling me about your family. What about the rest of the team?"

Feeling herself relax a bit, Kaye pulled one of the pillows from the sofa into her lap, absently playing with the soft blue fringe around the edges. "Well, there's Tony. He's pretty great, I guess. I think he and Abby knew my Mom the best before she died."

Scribbling on her notepad, Amanda made note of the fact that Kaye still referred to her mother, Kate, as Mom, as well as calling Jenny both Mom and Jenny. It made it more difficult to follow the girl's train of thought, but it was an interesting tidbit of information.

"I think Tony kind of had a thing for my mom. And I know she had a thing for him. She used to talk about him all the time; I heard more stories about Tony than anyone else. He calls me this stupid nickname, Bella, which means beautiful in Italian. He's Italian. Well, I mean, not like from Italy Italian. Just more, like, he can speak a little Italian and usually uses it to get girls. We were super close when I first got to the team, but it hasn't been the same in awhile. Then there's Abby."

Amanda made a quick note of the fact that while Kaye had revealed something of an issue in her relationship with Tony, she was quick to change the subject.

"Abby is crazy and weird and wonderful. She's pretty much the glue that holds everyone together. And not just everyone as in holds the group together. Like, she glues each person back together when they need it. Not that she's always perfect or even nice. She can be mean and hold a grudge. But she's kind of like a daughter to Dad. I guess she kind of took care of him from the time she met him. She's not really parental at all. She's more like having a big sister or a silly aunt."

"Is there anyone on the team that you clash with? Maybe not even that far. Someone you just don't click with as well?"

Immediately, a face flashed in her mind, and without thinking, a name popped out, short and clear. "Ziva."

Amanda's eyebrows raised just slightly, and she watched Kaye's features darken. She'd struck a nerve. "Tell me about Ziva."

Twisting the little tassels of the pillow around her fingers over and over again, Kaye studied the floral design of the fabric as she spoke.

"Uhm. I don't even know where to start."

"When did you first notice that something was different in your relationship with Ziva?"

Kaye thought back, muddled memories of her earliest days coming to mind. "I don't really know a specific time. I just realized over time that she didn't really seem to want to get to know me."

"Has she shown any sort of…hostility toward you?"

Kaye shook her head. "Nothing like that, no. She's just always been…far off. Distant, I guess. Tony and Abby and everyone wanted to know everything about me. They always told me I looked like my mom, or they'd tell me I said things like her, or acted like her. They always wanted to take me to do stuff, wanted to teach me stuff, wanted to hang out with me. But I think the only time Ziva and I have spent one on one was the summer that Dad was gone. She was teaching me Hebrew."

"Does she still teach you?"

"Sometimes. But she always brings Tony, or we do it at our house when Dad's home, or in Abby's lab or the bullpen. It's like she doesn't want to be alone with me."

"Do you have any idea why that is?"

Kaye scrubbed a hand over her mouth, huffing deeply.

Sure.

She had a reason.

A damn good one.

But she couldn't exactly spread it to the world, not without getting into major trouble from her dad.

Amanda read the look that Kaye gave the pillow in her lap and understood. "Kaye, when we first met, do you remember what we talked about?"

Kaye shifted in her seat, knowing the end of the session was near. "Something about talking to my dad about what we talk about?"

"Right. Kaye, is there something you'd like to tell me that you don't want me to share with your father?"

Kaye's bright blue eyes met her therapist's and she nodded slowly.

"Is it something that has caused you or anyone else harm, or that could cause harm?"

Kaye shook her head quickly, her eyebrows coming down. No. Ziva had never hurt her, and she didn't believe she ever would.

"Alright. Then I can tell your father that we did have a conversation today that you'd like kept private. Would you feel comfortable continuing if that were the case?"

Kaye thought it over for a moment. It _would_ be nice to finally talk about this insanity.

"Yes."

"Okay, then. You can continue. This will be between us."

The pillow became intensely interesting once again. "I think I know why Ziva doesn't like me. Or at least why she doesn't want to be around me. I think her brother killed my mom."

NCISNCISNCIS

 ** _Early November 2008_**

 _Around. Around. Around. Around._

 _"You're going to make yourself sick, kiddo." Abby said from behind her microscope._

 _Kaye continued spinning on the office chair, clinging to the sides tightly._

 _Around and around again._

 _"I'll…be…"_

 _Abby looked up just in time to watch Kaye attempt to stop, lulling to the right. She dashed across the lab and caught Kaye just before her head met Abby's computer table._

 _"Woah."_

 _"I don't want to be the one to say I told you so, but…"_

 _"Yeah, yeah. I get it."_

 _Kaye stood dizzily and Abby held her steady until she was certain the girl wouldn't cause herself any major injuries._

 _"One time, my brother, Luca, and I decided to have this epic spinning competition. We weren't even on chairs. We were just out in the backyard. We spun ourselves, and the first one to fall over lost."_

 _"Who won?"_

 _"I thought I was a shoe-in. I mean, he is a few years younger. We were both going so fast and were so dizzy, and I just heard him say he was going to throw up, so I slowed down and stopped, just in time to see him spew vomit in a complete circle. He didn't stop spinning to throw up, managed to get a good distance on it, too. Luckily, I'd spun out of range, mom's clean laundry and the neighbor's cat weren't as fortunate."_

 _Kaye made a disgusted face. Trust Abby to have a story about vomiting in a circle._

 _"What was it like having a brother? Did you pick on him all the time?"_

 _Abby bent back over her microscope, occasionally looking up to take notes or smile at Kaye, who had commandeered Abby's tall computer stool._

 _"Of course. I was terrible. But we were also pretty much best friends growing up. We were inseparable, always up to no good. Used to drive my mother nuts. But it wasn't so easy to make friends. Growing up with deaf parents, you're inherently weird. So we embraced it and were weird together. Besides, I needed a lookout for when I snuck into the old junkyard."_

 _She knew that story well. Abby loved to talk about her life, and Kaye was usually content to listen to the often-outrageous tales._

 _"I wish I had a sister. Or even a brother." Kaye found herself mumbling aloud. It wasn't a thought she'd had until recently, and it had been entirely unverbalized until that moment._

 _Abby found herself choking out a laugh. "Good luck with that one."_

 _Kaye huffed, crossing her arms. She knew Abby meant no harm, but secretly she had hoped, maybe, by some chance, if her Dad and Jenny…_

 _She stopped that train of thought right there. Thinking about Jenny only lead to bad things._

 _"I always thought it was normal to have brothers and sisters. But I guess it isn't really. You and Tim are the only ones on the team with siblings."_

 _"No we aren't." Abby stated matter-of-factly._

 _Kaye looked at her in confusion, quickly running over the known facts of the team in her mind._

 _"Yeah you are. Dad didn't have any. Ducky didn't. Jimmy didn't. Ziva didn't. Tony didn't."_

 _"Ziva did."_

 _Stepping off of the stool and marching over to Abby, Kaye placed her hands on her hips. "What do you mean? Ziva doesn't have any brothers or sisters."_

 _Abby bit her lip, raising her head from the microscope. She'd stepped in it. Kaye didn't know._

 _"Um, well…I mean. You know what? You're right. She didn't."_

 _But Kaye had begun to perfect the Gibbs Stare, and narrowed her piercing blue eyes at Abby. "You think I don't know when you're lying? She has a sibling?"_

 _Abby's eyes darted around the room. She thought back. She could just pass off the info about Ziva's sister, Tali. Tony had slipped up one night and told her about her. It was a tragic story. But if Kaye could spot that she was lying…_

 _There was no way that Gibbs had told her anything about Ari. It should be safe. As long as Kaye didn't go telling people she knew anything._

 _"Look, she doesn't like to talk about it."_

 _"I won't say anything, not even to Dad."_

 _Abby sighed heavily, knowing that somehow, someday, this would come back to bite her in the ass._

 _"She had a sister, Tali. She died young."_

 _Kaye could tell that Abby was holding something back. She always looked guilty. "And?"_

 _"And she had a half-brother."_

 _"Had?" Kaye asked, sympathy filling her voice._

 _"He died as an adult."_

 _"Oh," Kaye sighed, deciding that her interrogation was nearly over. She didn't want to hurt Ziva. She just wanted to know something about the mysterious Israeli. Turning away, she headed back to her spot beside the computer table. "What was his name?"_

 _Abby thought quickly. If she hesitated too long, Kaye would know there was something more to it. So she spat it out. "Ari."_

 _Her chest tightened and her stomach felt like lead, but Kaye did her best not to react outwardly. Licking her lips, she turned around and looked at Abby, doing everything she could to control herself. "Ari David?"_

 _Abby looked back into her microscope, hoping to avoid Kaye catching anything in her eyes. If she lied now, she'd be found out, so she did her absolute best to sound completely nonchalant. "Um, no. They had different dads. Ari had his mother's last name. It was Haswari, from what I remember."_

 _It took everything in her not to react for the rest of the afternoon._

NCISNCISNCIS

"What's the significance, there, Kaye?" Amanda probed softly, noting the raging emotion in Kaye's eyes.

Letting out a shaky breath, Kaye let out the secret she'd been holding onto for months.

"Ari Haswari is the man that murdered my mother."

NCISNCISNCIS

A/N: I apologize again for the delay. This one gave me a lot more trouble than I intended. As I alluded to before, this chunk of Kaye's story is going to deal in depth with Kaye really discovering who she's going to be in life. She'll deal with her grief over Jenny's death and all that it meant, including losing the ideal "happily-ever-after" scenario she'd had planned in her head for Jenny and Gibbs. It'll deal with the fallout of finally realizing who Ziva is and why that relationship has been near non-existent all this time. There may be realizations of who her Dad has been before he knew her, and explorations of her fear of her biological family. Beyond that, seasons 6-8 are heavy with team issues and dynamics that we'll look at from her eyes. Sorry that my updates no longer come as quickly as they once did, but Kaye is alive and well in my mind. One day I hope to get to the juicy stuff (when she's about 16), but for now, we'll keep watching her grow up. Thanks for reading! You guys are lovely!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Saturday, January 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009**_

She _seemed_ normal. She _seemed_ herself.

Hunching over her homework, calculating intense equations for a child her age, that was all normal. Chomping absentmindedly on a bowl of cereal, drumming her thumb on the table while she worked. Normal.

But things weren't normal.

His daughter, his _eleven-year-old daughter_ , was hiding something from him, something big.

And he hadn't the slightest clue what it might be.

While Kaye sat in the waiting room, her therapist, Amanda, had brought him in to talk.

" _Today went fairly well. Kaye seems to be getting more comfortable sharing."_

" _That's, uh, good."_

" _It is. She started opening up about the team as her family. She was describing her relationships with each of your team members. She even spoke of Jenny."_

 _Gibbs swallowed roughly. "She did?"_

" _Yes. She told me about her mother, Kate, and how close they were, even of how she almost expected her mother's death."_

" _Yeah, uh…I know about that. She did so much better after Kate than she is now."_

 _Amanda nodded slightly, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Kaye spoke at length about the two of you. Of how she became your daughter. Of your time in Mexico. That's how we ended up on the topic of Jenny. She did bring something up that you should be aware of."_

" _What's that?" Gibbs asked, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees._

" _Kaye showed interest in discussing Jenny's death with you. I realize that this all must be incredibly difficult for you, as well. But perhaps if you tried to initiate conversations about it all, Kaye might respond. Truth be told, from what I've heard of your relationship, I think she'd do much better opening up to you about it than me. She wants to be able to talk about it, but seems afraid to bring it up. You are her rock, Agent Gibbs. You are the most important person in her life."_

 _Gibbs nodded, coughing to remove the lump forming in his throat._

 _Amanda continued, "Beyond all of that, she told me about her new routine, which I understand is really an old routine she used to have?"_

" _She used to be with DiNozzo and Abby all the time."_

" _That's good. Putting her back into situations that typically brought her joy in the past is a good strategy. She told me that it was difficult for her, and that she's not entirely comfortable with the idea of being away from home, but overall it seemed like a positive experience. I know that you aren't one to put much stock in therapy, but Kaye seems to be taking to it. She's making steps in the right direction, and that's on you. You're doing the right things, Agent Gibbs."_

 _Gibbs stared at the floor for a moment before nodding and standing. "Thank you."_

" _There's one more thing."_

 _He turned back around and faced the smaller blonde woman._

" _Kaye and I had a talk about privacy. I let her know that she can talk to me about issues that she wishes to keep private, as long as they do not involve her or anyone else coming to any sort of harm."_

 _Gibbs nodded, knowing the idea of patient confidentiality well._

" _She did share something with me."_

 _Now he was listening. "Okay…"_

" _While I can't share the details, I can say this. Kaye is working through something big. She's come to a realization of late that goes beyond the reasons she first came in here. I can't tell you anything more than that, but I would suggest beginning to have conversations with her on a deeper level. Try discussing the things that are difficult to discuss. And don't be afraid to push her, gently. Just be sensitive."_

He was stumped. His mind had been racing through every possibility. His only hint was that it probably had nothing to do with Jen.

Only one way to find out.

Bite the bullet.

Pulling out the kitchen chair beside Kaye, he eased himself down, glancing at her homework as he sat. She was _so_ intelligent, and she continued to surprise him. He was trying to figure out how to start the conversation when a voice broke into his thoughts.

"The team might not be able hear you coming, but you're thinking so loud that I can't focus on my work. What's up?"

Gibbs smirked at his daughter. Too damn smart.

"How was your session with Amanda?"

Kaye gently placed her pencil down, shifting in her seat to face her dad. She knew where this was going.

"You waited three days to ask about my therapy session?"

Gibbs shrugged.

"This is about what I didn't want her to tell you, isn't it?"

Gibbs squinted his eyes at her, tilting his head just slightly. Kaye looked over to the window, huffing to herself.

"I don't really want to talk about it. You're real subtle, by the way."

Gibbs reached over, touching his finger to her chin, guiding her eyes to his own. "Whatever it is, we can handle it."

And then, for the first time in awhile, she surprised him.

Tears instantly filled her blue, blue eyes.

"No, we can't," she squeaked. "We can't _handle_ it. I…I can't _handle_ it."

Sucking in a breath, Gibbs scooted his chair close to hers so that their knees were touching. He reached out, grasping her little hand in his, scrubbing his thumb back and forth across her palm. "Talk to me, Kaye. Let me in. Let me help."

"You can't help, Dad. It's not that simple. It just…isn't. Just drop it, okay?"

Anger. She was angry? At him? Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not one to give up so easily.

"Why are you angry? What _happened_?"

Kaye wrenched her hand away from his and crossed her arms over her chest. She let out a frustrated puff of breath. Couldn't she have just one secret?

Clearly, she wasn't going to give him anything. He'd have to try another tactic.

"Would it be easier to talk to Abby? Tony? What about Ziva?"

Kaye flinched. Visibly flinched. Winced, almost, at the last name. Gibbs zeroed in, feeling just the least bit terrible that he was using interrogation techniques usually reserved for criminals to extract information from his child.

"Ziva."

Her eyes darted to his, a flash of… _something_ within her gaze. Bingo.

"What did Ziva do?"

"Nothing." She coughed out shortly, glaring, not daring to glance away.

"Must've done something to get that look from you."

Kaye blinked rapidly, forcing the gathering tears away. Images flashed in her mind, images she'd created on her own from the few facts she'd been told. Memories of the night that Tony had told her _so much_ rushed over her, chilling her.

" _There's something nobody has ever told you about the day that your mom died."_

 _Kaye's attention was immediately refocused on him._

 _"Nobody ever talks about that day." She whispered._

 _"It's because that day was horrible and gruesome and one of the worst days any of us has ever experienced. We knew there was a shooter on a roof, but we had no idea about Ari's plan."_

 _"Ari?" Kaye asked quietly._

 _"Ari Haswari. He's – he's the man that killed your mother."_

 _Kaye's mouth went dry as she repeated the name over and over in her head._ _Ari Haswari. Ari Haswari. Ari Haswari. The man that killed Mom._

 _"We were up on the roof, and your mom…she was Gibbs' protection detail. We knew he wanted Gibbs dead. We were up there, trying to get things ready, and there was a shooter."_

 _Kaye wasn't sure whether to welcome or shove away the images that floated across her eyes that her mind was piecing together. Images of her dad, and her mom, and Tony and a shooter._

 _"He came out of nowhere, through a metal door thing, and he tried to kill Gibbs. He fired, and Kate-" Tony choked as he tried to push the words out. "Your mom yelled, 'Shooter!' and jumped in front of him to save his life."_

 _Kaye gasped as she imagined her mom being shot, and for her dad._

 _"He shot her; she had her vest on. Gibbs fired and fired until the guy fell to the ground. We ran to her. It had hit her in the chest. We thought she was gone. She wasn't moving. We ripped open her jacket and found the bullet lodged in the vest."_

 _Kaye tucked her knees up under her chin and held them tightly to her chest as tears began to fall from her eyes._

 _"When she finally," Tony's voice cracked. "spoke, she started making fun of me. She'd been hurt, but she was okay, and she was_ _Kate_ _."_

 _Kaye held her breath and Tony gripped her ankle comfortingly. He had already told her more than he knew Gibbs would ever want her to know about Kate's last moments. Behind his eyes, the moments played like a horrific movie, forever etched in his mind as she joked with Gibbs about how Tony could never be right._ _Wow! I thought I'd die before I ever…_

 _He coughed to cover the gut wrenching pain as he allowed himself to remember in such detail the gunshot that ended her life. Kaye didn't need to know that particular detail._

 _"And…and then she was gone." He finished._

Gibbs watched the multitude of emotions play over Kaye's face and knew the type of turmoil she was in. This was bigger than he thought.

 _What the hell could be such a big deal that has to do with Zi…_

Raising his head, he sucked in a sharp breath. It couldn't… She couldn't…

There was no way.

How the hell could she have found out? They never discussed any of that. He had to push. If she knew what suspected she knew, there would be fallout. It had to be dealt with.

"Does this have to do with your mother?"

Kaye's eyes flashed to his, her eyes deepening, darkening; hurt, confusion, anger playing across her features at once.

"Say it, Kaye. Say the name."

Squaring her jaw, she swallowed. He knew. Of course he knew. He always knew. Never in her entire time with him had she been able to keep a secret from him.

"Ari Haswari."

"Ziva?"

She glared, her hands balling into fists now at her sides. Her eyes filled with a fury he'd never encountered.

"Her _BROTHER_ murdered _MY MOTHER!"_

And there it was. Out for all to see. Amanda had suggested she might feel better having shared what she knew with someone she trusted.

Amanda was wrong.

If anything, Kaye felt worse. Guilty. Ziva was supposed to be family. Angry. They'd all been hiding this horrible fact from her for three years. Afraid. Could Ziva be trusted? Confused. Why did it go down that way? Sorrow. She missed her mother. _Mothers_.

She felt like she was lost, being tossed and torn in a sea of warring emotions.

A hand clamped on her shoulder. Another guided her out of her chair. She could barely see past her mind's eye. Arms. Strong. Familiar. Up. She was up in the air; she clung to him out of habit, out of her need for comfort.

A soft voice, whispering in her ear as she was held like she was only eight again. "We'll handle this, Kaye. We'll get through this."

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Monday, January 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009**_

The door to the stairway slammed, echoing through the lab, shooting shivers down the spines of the adults gathered within.

They'd all received a text. An actual text message. From Gibbs.

 _Lab. 0700. No excuses._

So there they were, awaiting their fate. Abby had been in first, of course, just before six o'clock. There was no way she would defy the orders of her fearless leader. Ducky had checked in shortly after, before heading to Autopsy for half an hour to kill time. Palmer had shown up next, glad to escape to Autopsy for a short time. Then Tim. He'd been quietly theorizing why they'd been summoned to the lab; none of his ideas were particularly favorable. Tony had appeared, coffees and Caf-Pow in hand at 6:45. He'd been unnaturally quiet, fearing the worst. Palmer and Ducky had reluctantly returned ten minutes later.

Tony had just quietly asked Abby if she'd heard from Ziva when they heard the sound of metal hitting metal down the hallway.

Abby shared a fearful look with McGee and they all straightened up as Gibbs stormed in, slamming the rarely-closed lab door shut behind him, locking it.

"I want the camera and mic disabled, Muh-Gee." He stated in a deadly calm tone that contradicted the rage emanating from his body.

Tim nodded, turning to Abby's computer and did what was asked in seconds. "Done, Boss."

Gibbs looked from face to face, then slammed his hand down on the metal table, earning a wince from each member of his team.

"Which one of you couldn't keep your damn mouth shut?"

They all exchanged confused, fearful glances.

"I want to know. Right now. Who thought that it was their place to share something like _that_ with my eleven-year-old daughter?!"

Abby gulped, hoping that he didn't mean what she thought he meant.

"Boss?" McGee ventured, quietly.

Growling, Gibbs took a long drink of the coffee he'd come in with. He dropped the now-empty cup unceremoniously to the metal table and fixed his most terrifying glare on them all.

"Which one of you…who told Kaye about Ari Haswari?"

Tony and Abby both flinched, and Gibbs knew he had them.

"Muh-Gee. Palmer. Duck. You can go."

Tim looked helplessly back at a very guilty-looking Abby before following the M.E. and his student out the door.

Gibbs waited for the click ensuring they were alone before he lit in on them.

"Talk. Now."

Of course, they both stumbled over each other's words.

"I, uh, well, she was asking about siblings and I didn't tell her…"

"We were talking. She was upset after the accident with…"

"I only told her that I wasn't the only one who…"

"She was mad that you'd risked your life for Maddie…"

"…Ziva had a sister and a brother, too…"

"…about the rooftop and Ari…"

"…Ari Haswari…"

He'd heard enough. He slammed his fist on the table again. "Enough!"

Tony and Abby stopped immediately at his command. They both looked fearful, and a small part of him, hidden beneath his mounting anger, felt guilty when he saw Abby's lip tremble.

"DiNozzo."

"It was over a year ago. The day with Maddie. Kaye stormed off and was mad at you. I just wanted her to understand that we have a job and sometimes that job's dangerous. So I told her about Kate being your protection detail and…I guess I got carried away. I told her about the rooftop. Nobody ever talks to her in depth about Kate and she needed to know. I told her that Ari Haswari killed her mother."

Beside him, Abby gasped, and she clutched at her stomach with one hand, her other coming to cover her mouth as tears filled her eyes with realization.

"Abigail."

He _never_ spoke to her like that.

"It's my fault, Gibbs. I'm sorry! I didn't…I didn't know she knew. I – we…we were here in the lab in like November or something. She was spinning on my chair and got dizzy and I told her about Luca throwing up and we talked about siblings, how she always wanted one."

Gibbs felt a stab in his chest.

"She thought Tim and I were the only ones with siblings, and I guess I just spouted out that Ziva had siblings, too. A sister and…and…"

"A brother. Named Ari Haswari."

Abby nodded, the first tear finding its way out of her eye, rolling a jerky path down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Gibbs. I didn't know. I didn't think. I…I…"

Gibbs closed his eyes and drew in a steadying breath. They hadn't meant harm. They'd talked to her like they always did. But their innocent intentions didn't change the fact that Kaye now knew.

"This is a disaster. You know that she's been hiding this all this time? Stewing about it? That angry, hurting eleven-year-old _kid_ is now fixated on the fact that Ziva's _brother_ murdered her mother. She can't even talk about Ziva right now. Doesn't want to be near her. She's managed through Christmas without saying anything, and hasn't been around here much, so she's been able to avoid her. She's scared of her. Confused. Doesn't know what to think. What am I supposed to do with that? How am I supposed to _fix_ that?"

Tony felt his chest tighten at the thought. Kaye practically hated Ziva now. They'd never been particularly close, and he'd always had a feeling that it had to do with Ziva's lingering guilt over Kate's death. But not close and hatred were two completely different ballgames.

Another tear escaped Abby's eye. She'd _never_ had Gibbs this angry at her before. She bit her lip and tried her best to think of a solution. If she could provide a solution, even a solid suggestion, maybe he'd stop looking at her like _that._

But she had nothing.

"I'm gonna have to tell Ziver. Gonna be a big thing. This is the last thing Kaye needed right now. She's barely dealing with Jen's death, and now we've got suspicion and anger toward Ziva, and the freshly opened wound of Kate's death to contend with. Do you see what you've _done_?" He asked them, his voice nearly cracking on the last word.

Abby hugged herself tightly. She hated herself a little in that moment, and Gibbs could read it on her face.

Finally, he sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down. He needed to leave the lab, let them _get_ what they'd done by being loose-lipped. If he stayed any longer, he knew that Abby's tears would break him, and he'd give in and comfort her, which he wasn't quite ready to do just yet.

"DiNozzo. Upstairs. Ten minutes."

"Yes, Boss," he mumbled to Gibbs' retreating back. He didn't need to look at Abby to know how she was handling their dressing down. Her quiet sniffles said it all.

"We'll fix it, Ab."

She reached him in an instant, clinging to him for comfort, and he held her tightly. "Didn't mean to do it. We're just idiots. We'll help fix it. Make it better."

Abby nodded into his neck and he gave her one last squeeze before releasing her. He had to get upstairs before he pissed off Gibbs any more.

NCISNCISNCIS

 _ **Tuesday, January 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2009**_

Ziva sunk down into the sofa, her hands shaking and her breaths coming in short, quick bursts. She should have seen this coming. It was just more proof of her deepest, darkest suspicions.

"I understand. I will keep my distance."

Gibbs sighed heavily and moved around his coffee table, coming to sit on it across from his Israeli prodigy. "No, that won't do."

Ziva fought the urge to look up. This was a man she trusted, the only man who had ever acted like a real father figure to her, caring for her, worrying about her, making her the best person she could be.

But now she felt like the worst version of herself.

She was hated. By a child.

And it wasn't completely unfounded.

"Ziver?"

"What do you want from me, Gibbs?"

"I want you to try. To give a damn."

Ziva's eyes shot up to meet his icy blue ones, her own bright with rage. "I do care! But she has a right to be angry! She's not wrong!"

Gibbs shook his head, his calloused hand coming to rest over her balled fist. "You think this was your fault? You think Kate's blood is on your hands."

Chocolate eyes filled with tears, her jaw setting tightly, the only other outward sign that she was on the verge of cracking.

Gibbs leaned across and took her chin in his hand, making sure that she maintained eye contact. "You were not on that rooftop. You didn't pull that damn trigger, Ziva. You didn't take her mother away."

"But perhaps I could have prevented it."

"You believe that? You think about him. About…Ari. Would your words have stopped him? Had you known, about Kaye, about his plan. Would anything you'd have said stopped him from climbing up there and taking her life?"

He could feel the horrified shudders running through Ziva's body, and found himself letting out a sigh of relief when she shook her head.

"No. He did as he pleased."

"You ended it. Even though it went against everything you felt, you ended it. And now you're here. On this team. Where you belong."

A crystal tear rolled down her tan cheek, betraying her. "What if I do not belong, Gibbs? Maybe this is the proof that I will never belong."

Gibbs was getting frustrated with her uncharacteristic pity party. "Then you prove that you do! You make a point to belong! You do everything you can to hold on to what you want, what you care about."

"How?" Ziva sounded so broken, and his heart twisted in his chest.

"You start now. There's a hurting little girl upstairs who needs a bedtime story read to her."

Ziva's eyes widened at his insinuation. "That is not a good idea."

"I think it's the best idea you've got. She's not scary. Maybe a little scared. Go up there and try. Maybe she'll give you something. Maybe she'll pretend you don't exist. Maybe she'll fight you. You have to give it a shot."

NCISNCISNCIS

Ziva knocked lightly on the heavy wooden door before entering, knowing she'd get no answer. Kaye sat up from her position laying on her stomach on her bed, placing her novel face down with a glare. She said nothing, but her eye spoke volumes.

"Your father wanted me to come up here and read you a story before bed. The books are in your nightstand, correct?"

Kaye made no movement, only watching the woman with contempt as she moved the length of the bedroom. Realizing Ziva wasn't going to leave anytime soon, Kaye huffed rather loudly and closed her novel, marking the page. She dropped it with a loud thump to her other bedside table. Continuing to toss glares Ziva's way, Kaye got herself into her bed, crossing her legs under her blankets. She drew her special blanket from Jenny around her shoulders, as was typical these days, and arranged her special toys near her. Some might make fun of an eleven-year-old girl still sleeping with stuffed animals, but Kaye wouldn't have mind. Bertha was special. So was the teddy bear she'd had since she was a baby. They sat on either side of her like her own personal army.

Ziva settled herself near the end of the bed, her legs dangling off the side. She thumbed through the selection of Kaye's bedtime books, before setting the pile aside on the covers.

"I was supposed to read you one of your stories, but I think I would like to tell you my own story, if you don't mind."

Kaye just blinked, her face stony.

"I had a sister once, and a brother. My family was far from perfect. My father was…difficult. Stubborn. Demanding. It was his joy in life to raise soldiers, and I was willing, eager to please. We lost my sister, Tali. She was just sixteen, killed in a bombing. Ari was lost long before that, though it took me far too long to realize that."

Ziva looked up at Kaye, and getting just an icy glance reminiscent of her adoptive father, she continued.

"I was… _am_ not unlike you, I think. My mother is gone, I no longer have siblings. My father…is complicated. He is still my family, but not in the way Gibbs is to you. Or, I suppose, even to me. I came here, lost myself, and found this team. This family."

Ziva took a deep, shaky breath. "We have never been close, Kaye, and that is my doing. From the very day I met you, I've held a guilt, and every time I see you, you remind me of my failings. If I had seen it sooner, if I had not blindly believed that my brother was still the good, kind boy that I once knew, maybe I could have stopped it all. Maybe I could have saved your mother. But those thoughts lead into a horrible downward spiral."

"What-ifs."

Ziva met Kaye's eyes at the whispered words. "Pardon?"

Kaye averted her eyes and began picking at her fingernails. "The what-ifs. What if mom had lived? If she had lived, everything would be supposedly perfect. Except that Dad would just be my mom's boss. Maybe Ton- "Kaye cut herself off, realizing that talking about Tony and her mother might _not_ be the best idea when it came to Ziva. "Maybe I never would have known the team, at least not like I do. I never would have called Jenny Mom. And then it comes to a choice. Do I want my mother alive? Or do I want to have my life with Dad?"

Ziva realized that this might have been the most words they had shared in all the time they'd known each other.

"I am sorry you lost your mother, Kaye. I am sorry that Ari was the cause. I am sorry that you must life with that every day."

Kaye seemed to have shut down once more. She simply looked away and tucked herself under her blankets. Ziva took the hint and placed the books back into the drawer, heading for the door. She hit the light switch and stopped in the doorway, turning to face Kaye once more.

"Laila tov, Kaye."

She just caught the whispered response.

"Laila tov."


End file.
